I don't really understand how one could say the PS1 is great because of RPG's and then dismiss the Neo Geo because it had few genres. I don't despise RPG's like I used to and could maybe, maybe see myself trying one out one day. I challenge someone to play Die Hard Trilogy on PS1 and not puke.

jon wrote:I don't really understand how one could say the PS1 is great because of RPG's and then dismiss the Neo Geo because it had few genres. I don't despise RPG's like I used to and could maybe, maybe see myself trying one out one day. I challenge someone to play Die Hard Trilogy on PS1 and not puke.

No one's saying that the PS1 is great because of RPGs. In fact, Rev specifically mentioned genre diversity as a strength of the platform.

There's no reason you can't like both the PS1 and the Neo Geo. Both have great games to offer. But we're comparing a system with 2,400 games to a system with 140 games. It's not really the same thing, is it?

Agree with mbd36 and pt on the PS1's visuals. Of course the 3D polygons haven't aged well for the most part. They're over 20 years old and it was a very ugly but necessary step to bring gaming into the 3rd dimension. But Saturn and yes, even the N64 have incredibly ugly 3D games, too. The Saturn was a 2D monster with insane animations, sprite work and colors. But better 3D than the PS1? I don't think so. You don't like the grainy visuals of PS1 games? Try some 3D Saturn games. Specifically, try some 3D *third party* games. Hell, play the first Panzer Dragoon. And that's a first party game.

Saturn had more potential with its resolution, but Virtua Fighter 2 and Dead or Alive are the exception, not the rule. The Saturn's two processors made it a bugger to develop for. And though it could do transparencies, Saturn games rarely had them, so enjoy that lovely mesh everywhere when there's an explosion.

And the reason people complain about N64 games looking like there's Vaseline on the screen is because N64 GAMES LOOK LIKE THERE'S VASELINE ON THE SCREEN. Seriously, why wouldn't people complain about that? It's annoying, ugly and it's in every game.

My point is all 3 5th gen consoles have their drawbacks when it comes to 3D graphics because of course they do! They're old and it was a time of both innovation and growing pains for the industry. We have beautiful worlds in our games today but they had to start somewhere. Being the subjective "best" of these 3D libraries isn't very impressive, imo.

Honestly, I'd never seen load times as long as the PS1's when I first played it. I remember around 1998-2000 somewhere around then just being so mad at the load times and contemplating if it was even worth the aggravation. It was the first video game system I ever played that just gave me a bad feeling, like it wasn't a true, pure video game system. In fact, it felt like a nuisance. And those headaches. There's nothing worse than a PS1 headache.

The Saturn seems better retrospectively due to it's 2D grunt and the fact we now have access to the awesome Japanese library. I love that machine but the PS1 steamrollered it.

For me the PS1 greatest achievement was making gaming mainstream and making it acceptable to play games in your twenties and beyond. Their whole approach was to go for the twenty something's which would then naturally bring even older (and the younger) gamers in.Sega went for the teens again, Nintendo went for the kids again. Sony went bigger and the gamble paid off big time.

Underrated Console: 32xIt gets a bad rap, but a decent percentage of it's games are good. Smooth 3D at a time consoles couldn't deliver it and some awesome Sprite scaling games with some decent experimentation. Yes it should never have existed but it does have some gaming gold in it's library.

I own and collect games for most of the mainstream consoles. This system's popularity sort of baffles me. I think it has some great games, and hidden gems worth tracking down (almost every system does)....however I feel that it's hard to actually go back and play them. While I will routinely play PS1 and Saturn games, I almost never have a desire to turn on my N64. I think part of the problem is that for many of the best titles, specifically 1st party stuff, their exists better options. Why would I play Mario Kart 64 when I can play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch? Mario 64 is literally my least favorite game in that series. Ocarina of Time? It's highly overrated and I'd rather play the 3DS port anyways. The original Super Smash Bros? Does anyone still think that game holds up? Star Fox...yeah you got me there. Star Fox 64 with that rumble pak and N64 controller still rules. Again, I get that the console has it's fans, but this is EASILY my least favorite mainstream Nintendo Console.

Underrated - Sega Genesis

I was originally going to put the 3DO here, because that is another system that deserves a shout out. However, in the grand scheme of things I think the Genesis still gets the shaft. Today people start up that age old SNES vs Genesis debate and immediately claim the SNES library is better. People will drop Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger and more as some of the best games OF ALL TIME. How many Genesis games get put into that conversation? Not many. Which is nonsense because the Genesis does indeed have titles that can go toe to toe with some of the all time greats. Shining Force II, Phantasy IV, Contra Hard Corps, Castlevania Bloodlines, Toejam and Earl, Wonder Boy, Shinobi III...etc. These games don't get the credit they deserve for some reason, because they're less story focused or too linear. If you were to put a gun to my noggin' and ask what was my favorite system of all time, it is going to be the Sega Genesis. No other library of games speaks to me more as a person who loves games. It's got such a wide breadth of genres and styles covered that I could just explore that one library for the rest of my life and never get bored. Plus it has so many flat out weird and interesting games that you simply can't find anywhere else. Yes the Genesis does get LOADS of praise and many people love it. I still think it's never been given it's proper respect though.

I find myself wanting to defend the N64. I do admit to some nostalgia here, as I am probably overfond of a few of its games. I have a nice library, and often choose the N64 when people come over. Beyond 1st party games, there are lots of fun 3rd party racing games, the star wars games, some boxing games, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, Quake, Turok, etc. And I get playing a later port or remake of a game on another platform (I do that too), but it shouldn't be a reason knock the original hardware.

Voor wrote:Regarding the Wii U, when I look over the games, it's actually a system I could easily pick up and grab a dozen games for (which is very rare for me). I still might.

So far a lot of the better Wii U games are being ported to the Switch. I just read today that Wonderful 101 is going to get a Switch port. If that trend continues the Switch would be a better bet because for as unique and awesome the Wii U is Nintendo really pulled a Munson with the choice of CPU. That garbage triple-core G3 is the biggest handicap in that console. Yoshi's Wooly World for example struggles badly in certain stages with the framerate and stutters, at times it's almost as bad as Arkham City (which was of course a sloppy port/launch title) but it just kills me how the Wii U doesn't have the horsepower to handle games that the PS3 and 360 could easily handle. Even considering that it has 4x the RAM and better graphics that CPU they chose was nearly a decade behind the times in 2012 when the console was released and as a result some of the games suffer because of it.

One way to determine overrated and underrated consoles is the market value of their re-releases. While I would love to see a re-released Saturn or even Virtual Boy, we can only see the early systems.

Underrated: NES. How anyone can say the NES is overrated after the NES Classic Mini creating a market phenomenon where people would line up at stores overnight is someone who doesn't understand the NES (clearly many of the people here. NES is still not well understood). Even Nintendo, themselves, underrated the NES and were shocked that the Classic Mini had the demand it did.

Overrated: Genesis. How many times are Genesis games re-released in terms of re-released Genesis, Genesis games ported to every console, on Steam, etc. and NO ONE CARES. No one is lining up to buy these old games. There is no Genesis born franchise that is still alive except for zombie Sonic which keeps being re-created as 'getting back that classic Sonic experience' as Sega becomes Lucy holding out the football for us Charlie Browns.

Nah, I'd say the most overrated console is the Master System. Unfortunate people who grew up with the Master System, many Europeans, keep trying to convince themselves that the games were actually good. I understand. I grew up with the Commodore 64 and thought games like The Giana Sisters were 'awesome'. But then I realized I was just playing a vastly watered down version of Super Mario Brothers. Master System and its games were the cheap NES Chinese knock-offs of the 1980s. Look at the Critic's list of Master System games. There are very few original highly reviewed games that are not arcade ports. Even the Virtual Boy did better than that!